I&M bank headquarters in Nairobi. [ photo / Emporis. ]
The I&M bank has suffered a blow after it lost a case battle to stop the tax man from collecting Sh238 million in Value added tax , corporate and withholdings.
In his final verdict in the case, high court judge George Odunga ordered the lender to take its case against the Kenya revenue authority (KRA) to the tax Appeals Tribunal for determination.
“The substance of my findings hereinabove is that the issues raised herein would have been better dealt with by the Tax Appeals Tribunal in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction under section 12 of the Tax Appeals Tribunal Act as read with section 51(9) of the Tax Procedures Act,” read Justice Odunga on Monday during the ruling.
The KRA had initially demanded Sh 434 million from I&M in tax records dispute following a 2015 assessment of the lender’s books where crucial records that were important in determining the disputed tax amount could not be traced.
Later, the lender sued the taxman while arguing out that KRA had failed to respond to its objection after 2015 tax assessment for more than 60 days as required by law.
It added that due to failure by KRA to respond was a clear indication that the objection was successful and thus the demand for unpaid levies was to be waived.
I&M will now decide on whether to or not to amend its appeal before the Tax Appeals Tribunal.